Fifty years ago, Robert Glaser introduced the concept of criterion-referenced measurement in an article in American Psychologist. Its early proponents predicted that this measurement strategy would revolutionize education. But has it lived up to its promise? W. James Popham explores this question by looking at the history of criterion-referenced…

A technique that can be used in the evaluation of program effectiveness focuses on differences between schools or programs at the item level rather than at the level of total test score. The technique was used to compare the results of norm and objective-reference mathematics achievement tests administered to Michigan fourth graders. (Author/JAC)

The feasibility of using criterion referenced tests (CRTs) in a large-scale evaluation conducted in an effectiveness evaluation context was investigated. The study began by examining the theory that structures the development and validation of CRTs to discover whether, on theoretical grounds alone, CRTs are suitable or not suitable for large-scale…

A discussion of student and program assessment in the context of Chinese language instruction looks at theory and methods of assessment, and proposes that norm-referenced language proficiency testing is inadequate to evaluate student achievement and program effectiveness. It is further proposed that criterion-referenced tests are more appropriate…

An evaluation system for use with Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I programs has been developed by RMC Research Corporation of Mountain View, California under contract with USOE. The system presently addresses cognitive achievement impact using three statistical designs, each of which may be implemented using either norm…

A replicable process for improving instruction through the consistent use of student data collected before, during, and after instruction is proposed. A rational analysis of different types of error rates (theoretical, base, posttest, instructional) and discrimination indices (base, posttest) leads to a set of rules for identifying test items and…